Last week, in my Fire Force post, I said that there were a number of episodes I wanted to see. Episode 20 had laid the groundwork for a few distinct stories that all looked promising and I was a little miffed that I got stuck watching one that just wasn’t as interesting to me.
as such, I was hyped for this week’s Fire Force to live up to that promise. Who would have guessed that what I really wanted was a Tamaki episode? I most certainly wouldn’t have. But there you have it. The one area where Fire Force had yet to surprise me and BAM. A really wonderful Tamaki episode.
didn’t manage to keep it to a reasonable screencap count. It was a great looking episode with tons of visual variety. Also, they keep sowing us Maki and teasing us with it. It’s working! I’m holding my breath until she comes back!
So the episode starts off where last week left off. Juggernaut heavily injured and Tamaki in strategically but ridiculously torn uniform. Her uniform is way flimsier than anyone else’s. I bet she could sue someone. It’s a safety issue. And I was about to write the scene off except, the uniform was torn but the camera wasn’t leering at her. In fact, there was something in the framing of the images that made Tamaki look tall, proud and strong. Well, that’s new.
Also, the exchange with Juggernaut was genuinely touching. He’s a simple guy, a farmer, so it’s not like he had some deep profound speech or anything. But something about the simplicity of his words really resonated with me. After watching a show desperately trying to manipulate emotion out of me, the straightforwardness of this moment hit me right in the feels.
Not that I had much time to indulge in it as Fire Force jumped right into Oze and Hinawa having the most awkward bickering in the middle of a fight. Hinawa is just the worst person to argue with. And then right over to Shinra and Giovanni having achieved the impossible. And by that I mean Giovanni has become even creepier than before.
we got a small glimpse of Arthur that truly did not disappoint. He manages to look heroic and super-powered and like a complete moron all at once. I adored it. The expressions of those two soldiers he left behind were priceless. Although, considering how bloody Fire Force is at the moment, this was some pretty dark humour as it’s reasonable to believe those poor guys were killed soon after.
Still, Shinra and Arthur are reunited and fighting Giovanni once more. This mirrors the events of season 1 as they both fought Giovani in what was one of the most difficult gifts either had had up until hen. Potentially still the worst for Arthur. It was also the strongest arc of the first season in my opinion. But I guess we’ll find out more next time.
As for Oze and Hinawa. We found out a lot of cool stuff about Oze this week. He seems to have powers of his own which I had not realized. Makes sense though, he is of the same generation as Maki. And despite teasing his sister so much, he really and truly cares for her. It was super sweet to hear him get all protective. Hinawa on the other hand is his usual unresponsive self.
Their, can we really call that a conversation?, really highlighted each man’s different view of Maki. Oze called her a delicate flower, Hinawa called her a valiant shield. And both men meant it as the highest compliment and with the utmost respect. But see, everything I know about Maki makes me think that given the choice, she would rather be a shield than a flower.
But let’s get back to Tamaki. Cause I feel like I need to talk about her contribution to this week’s episode. She didn’t have much more screentime than the other characters who were featured but she certainly left an impact.
The episode skipped over a lot of her actually fighting infernals. We did get plenty of cool looking shots of her powering up to her firecat form though! And she looked pretty awesome. It was tough for me to get rid of any of my screencaps with Tamaki in them. But there was a moment where she dispatches an infernal and quickly says a prayer for him as a sister while smoothly transitioning into fighting the next one coming up behind her. Juggernaut’s speech was touching but this was when the episode actually made me a bit misty-eyed. Tamaki was sooo cool right there and also true to herself. This is what the character deserves!
In any case, we did understand that Tamaki had been fighting waves of infernals all on her own while protecting Juggernaut. No tripping over her own feet or crying or anything! With only 3 episodes left, fingers crossed that the trend will continue.
And that would have been enough if two withe-clad hadn’t shown up. We know that the white-clad are in fact very powerful. So far the 8th hasn’t actually managed to take one down, they’ve just managed to push them back and make them retreat and even that hasn’t been easy at all. Logically, an exhausted Tamaki by herself should be no match for one, let alone two.
I won’t deny that it would have been awesome to see Tamaki triumph against all odds. But it also wouldn’t have made any sense at all. And it would have doubly annoyed me that she has had to be saved nonstop so far if we suddenly learn that she’s the most powerful fire soldier of them all. So I actually prefer that she got saved. Besides, it was the captains that came to her rescue. Captains are supposed to do that!
I was utterly satisfied with the episode. Nothing to complain about and then just as a bit of icing on top we got to me up with Victor again. And I have to say he is really chilled about being the only survivor of his entire unit. And then cliffhanger. Or ticking bomb.
Either way in the next three episodes (my predictions) Oze and Hinawa will come to a deeper understanding and Maki will make her triumphant return! Arthur and Shinra will learn to work together to kick Giovanni’s behind and Shinra will learn something new about Sho. And the rest of the unit will have to scramble and come up with a brilliant plan to save the city from an explosion. They have Vulcan and Victor around so maybe will get some sneaky engineering solution! And every one of these storylines sounds like something I really want to see!
In case you’re interested, here are my reviews for the great season of Fire Force
- Fire Force 2 Episode 1 – A Great Start
- Fire Force 2 Episode 2 – The Return of the Knight King
- Fire Force 2 Episode 3 – Bombshell Gorilla
- Fire Force 2 Episode 4 – Day of The Living Ash
- Fire Force 2 Episode 5 – Firestorm
- Fire Force 2 Episode 6 – Backdraft
- Fire Force 2 Episode 7 – Tabernacle
- Fire Force 2 Episode 8 – Mixed Messages
- Fire Force 2 Episode 9 – titless
- Fire Force 2 Episode 10 – Orthodoxy
- Fire Force 2 Episode 11 – Wild Card
- Fire Force 2 Episode 12 – Beni-J
- Fire Force 2 Episode 13 – Scriptures
- Fire Force 2 Episode 14 – The Devil You Know
- Fire Force 2 Episode 15 – Free For All
- Fire Force 2 Episode 16 – The Enemy of my Enemy
- Fire Force 2 Episode 17 – Protectors
- Fire Force 2 Episode 18 – Crisis of Faith
- Fire Force 2 Episode 19 – Daddy’s Girl
- Fire Force 2 Episode 20 – Into The Nether
I wish I could be as positive about the Tamaki scenes, but, well, they cut away during most of the fighting and then only cut back to her when the two white clad appear, and they don’t even let her do anything here, and then she gets a pat on the head from Obi. It’s the same patronising treatment she’s received all along. I do think her framing’s better than it was in the first season with regards to the fansersive, though.
Maki’s brother and Hinawa were hilarious together: “You let her hang back, didn’t you?” – “Obviously, we used her as a meat shield.” Hinawa’s social ineptness never fails to amuse me. I love that dork.
**** But see, everything I know about Maki makes me think that given the choice, she would rather be a shield than a flower. ****
Actually, I think people forcing her to choose one or the other is the key problem here. It’s actually a good gender portrayal, with Maki having to reconcile different role expectation and identifying with both. (I still can’t quite figure out what Hinawa meant when he said she should go back to the military, but she definitely felt like she failed to meet the shield expectations, and that’s definitely not it.) In contrast to Tamaki, I’m really happy with how they treated Maki so far in this arc, even though she only had a very short reminder scene in this episode.
I was going to mention that most of the fighting happened offscreen but then again it could have been a pacing issue. The episodes was pretty packed and there isn’t much time left. I still love the praying scene
“Tamaki was sooo cool right there and also true to herself. This is what the character deserves!”
Wasn’t that great? She just took care of business.
I also agree with you — I think Tamaki should sue. Her overcoat is obviously made from inferior materials.
“Arthur and Shinra will learn to work together to kick Giovanni’s behind”
Does Giovanni even have a behind now? I wasn’t clear on his new anatomy…
I like how you obliquely compared Juggernaut’s scene to Wiene’s. They were polar opposites. I really hope Juggernaut survives. But man, his injuries were brutal.
I think he’ll be fine. I’m not sure what his injuries are but he’s a bit of a crybaby so it wouldn’t surprise me if they turned out not that bad